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How complicated would it be to fundamentally change US voting laws?

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  • How complicated would it be to fundamentally change US voting laws?

    In a way this was inspired by the results of the Hessian state elections this sunday.

    Look at the distribution of seats iun the hessian state parliament in this article:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessia...election,_2018

    You will see something you will likely never ever ever ever see in the USA ... more than 2 parties represented in the parliament.
    Why is this?
    Simply said because germany (like almost all other western modern countries) has a proportional voting system.
    Representations in the parliament are determined by the percentages of votes for the parties in the voting districts (well, it is a little bit more complicated because it is a mixed system,. but should be sufficient für this thread).

    Lets say that germany had an american "winner takes all" voting system and the percentual distribution of seats would represent the percentage of votes (for the parties) in every single hessian voting district. In this case the parliamentary seat distribution would be all black,. because the CDU would have gained 100% of the seats (being the "winning party" in every voting district. With other words, the CDU would win 100% of the parliament despite only 27% of the cvoters voted for them.

    But well, this was only a digression to the main point of my thread:
    Lets say that in a parallel reality a bipartisan majority of congressmen sees the light that the US voting system is outdated and inherently unjust and wanted to change both, the federal, as well as the state level voting systems to a proportional voting system (instead of the current winner takes all systems across the voting districts)
    (as I said, parallel reality ... I am aware that this never ever will happen in this reality, because neither republicans nor democrats would want to give third parties a chance the opportunity to really have a realistic chance in the elections )

    How complicated would that be ... what majorities in the federal congress/senate as well as those of the states would be necessary?
    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

  • #2
    In my state, by law, only the top two candidates are on the ballot which means third parties are effectively completely locked out. Sometimes we even see abortions like two Dems on the ballot and no other choice at all.
    Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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    • #3
      The short answer is because of the decentralized nature where we have 50 systems and sometimes each county in a state might have different systems... It would take a constitutional amendment. Which is to say very hard.
      Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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      • #4
        You would need a constitutional amendment, so you would need two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress as well as majorities in the legislatures of 38 states. You would need to pretty much scrap the whole idea of allotting each state its own representatives, so it would be a tough sell given that a lot of Americans practically believe the US constitution is a sacred, divinely inspired document.

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        • #5
          Thanks.
          Looks like an almost impossible task then, even in my idealistic scenario.
          Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
          Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

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          • #6
            There is a chance that in one of an infinite parallel universes that the Ds and Rs would voluntary give up the dichotomy that keeps both of them in power ... ok, no, not even then.

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            • #7
              Why would the US want to adopt German election laws, given how the Nazis came to power?
              Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
              "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
              2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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              • #8
                Wait ... aren't you a fan of the British system?

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                • #9
                  Why would anyone vote for conservative parties, given how the Nazis came to power?

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Ben Kenobi View Post
                    Why would the US want to adopt German election laws, given how the Nazis came to power?
                    The FRG doesn't have the same voting system as the Weimar Republic (which led to the rise of the NSDAP) ... it is much more refined (and a little bit more complicated) in order to prevent the shortcomings of the Weimar Republics (example: 5% hurdles and direct mandates)

                    But the USA could also adopt the system of Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Italy or many more european states if they prefer to do so.
                    The majority of european states use proportional voting systems (instead of winner takes all) because they allow for a more just representation of the population ... something that winner takes all systems, as used by the USA, totally fail to do

                    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
                    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

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                    • #11
                      Ben is really on an anti-German kick lately.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Ben Kenobi View Post
                        Why would the US want to adopt German election laws, given how the Nazis came to power?
                        The Nazis were never elected and the current election laws in the Federal Republic are nothing like in the Weirmer Republic.
                        Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                        • #13
                          Wait ... aren't you a fan of the British system?
                          Yes. Which is very different from the current system in Germany.
                          Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
                          "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
                          2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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                          • #14
                            the current election laws in the Federal Republic are nothing like in the Weirmer Republic.
                            Closer to each other than America or Canada today. And yes, the Nazis did in fact win the second to last and the last election before they abolished parties.
                            Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
                            "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
                            2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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                            • #15
                              to prevent the shortcomings of the Weimar Republics (example: 5% hurdles and direct mandates)
                              Given that the Nazis had 30+ percent and the hardline parties are easily over 5 already in Germany, how does a 5 percent threshold prevent them from attaining power? US can't be governed by a small party with the balance of power, but rather a much broader coalition in the Republican party.
                              Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
                              "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
                              2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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